Important Orders, Notification, Clarification and Lok Sabha Q & A

Important Orders and News - Post Offices dated 01/02/2018 https://goo.gl/HHt4oL

Direct Recruitment Notification for holding competitive Examination restricted to GDS for the Post of MTS https://goo.gl/rdi4Jy

Total No of Post Offices in the Country as on 31/03/2018 https://goo.gl/FDgFrq

Clarification on Date of next increment under Rule 10 of CCS (RP) Rules, 2016 https://goo.gl/jfeTw7

Guidelines for transfer to regulate transfers of Group 'C' officials, Group 'B' (non-gazetted) officials and Assistant Superintendent of Posts (Group 'B' Gazetted) https://goo.gl/GS1ARw

Major changes in Transfer Policy Guidelines dated 31.07.2018 https://goo.gl/njEzWU

Expected DA From July 2018 – Almost Confirmed! https://goo.gl/ijSHds

No of Post Offices Post Offices functioning from Rented Buildings https://goo.gl/4ekQaa

Counting of Induction Period for MACPS https://goo.gl/CkJtGg

SB and SC Complied Materials for easy reference https://goo.gl/HFDRik

LTC TO EMPLOYEES https://goo.gl/toVGao

Discontinuation of Overtime Allowances https://goo.gl/hLpTuo

Total no of Post Office in India as on 31/03/2018 is 155531 - Lok Sabha Q & A

Wage structure of GDS - Lok Sabha Q&A (25-07-2018)

Proposals for opening of Post Offices in Rural Areas : Lok Sabha Q&A (25-07-2018)

Proposals for opening of Post Offices in Rural Areas : LS Q & A (25-07-2018)

Revision of salary of GDS as per Finance Commission recommendation – LokSabha Q&A

Revision of salary of GDS as per Finance Commission recommendation – No Such Proposal – LokSabha Q&A

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS

DEPARTMENT OF POSTS

LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1379

TO BE ANSWERED ON 25th JULY, 2018

REVISION IN WAGE STRUCTURE OF GDS

1379. SHRI SANJAY KAKA PATIL:

SHRIMATI KAVITHA KALVAKUNTLA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has approved the revision in the wage structure and allowances of Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) recently and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(b) whether the Union Government is considering to constitute new pay revision committee for GDS engaged in postal service as per the recommendation made by Kamlesh Chandra Committee; and

(c) the provision being made by the Union Government with regard to revision of salary of GDS as per the recommendation of Finance Commission?

ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS &

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

(SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a) Yes, Madam. A summary of recommendations approved by the Government is annexed.

(b) No, Madam.

(c) The system of Gramin Dak Sevaks is unique to Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication. Department of Posts vide it’s resolution number 17-13/2013-GDS dated 19.11.2015 had constituted a One Man Committee under the Chairmanship of Shri Kamlesh Chandra, retired Member, Postal Services Board, to look into the conditions of service, emoluments and other facilities available to Gramin Dak Sevaks. The Committee had submitted it’s report on 24.11.2016. The recommendations of the Committee were examined by the Government and approved to be implemented vide orders dated 25.06.2018 and 27.06.2018. Therefore, there is no such proposal for revision of salary of GDS as per recommendation of Finance Commission

Annexure

Summary of the Implementation of Wage Structure of

Gramin Dak Sevaks of Department of Posts

1. One-man committee constituted under the chairmanship of Shri Kamlesh Chandra, Retd. Member, Postal Services Board submitted report on 24.11.2016. The Department has increased the minimum working hours of GDS Post Offices and GDSs to 4 hours from 3. The minimum Time Related Continuity allowance (TRCA) is increased to Rs. 10,000 and Maximum Rs. 35,480/- in a span of 31 stages* with 3% annual increase. The existing 8 categories of GDS are replaced with 2 (two) categories i.e. Branch Postmasters (BPM) and Assistant Branch Postmasters (ABPM). The existing 11 Time Related Continuity Allowance (TRCA) slabs are replaced with two slabs in each category (with 4 hours and 5 hours’ workload) as below:-

CATEGORY	REVISED TRCA*
BPMS (4 hours)	Rs.12,000-29,380
(5 Hours)	Rs.14,500-35,480
ABPMS (4 Hours)	Rs.10,000-24,470
(5 Hours)	Rs.12,000-29,380

Also Read : GDS Arrears Calculator 2018 Latest Version

2. The Annual increase at the rate of 3% of TRCA once in a year has been implemented (as applicable to serving Central Government servants) against annual increase paid earlier @Rs. 45, 50, 60, 65, 75, 85 for different TRCA slabs.

3. The New TRCA structure and allowances is effected from 01.07.2018. The payment for the period from 01.01.2016 to date of implementation is as following: –

i. TRCA for the period mentioned above will be multiplied by a factor of 2.57.

ii. The difference between the figure thus arrived at and the wages already drawn, to be paid as arrears in one installment.

4. Other Allowances: the following allowances are implemented from 01.07.2018:-

ITEM	PRE-REVISED	REVISED
ALLOWANCES
Office maintenance allowance (For BPMs only	Rs. 100/- pm	Composite Allowance is proposed as follows (For BPMs only) BPMs providing Branch Post Office accommodation which meets the prescribed standards – Rs. 500/- BPMs having BOs at non-standard/rent free accommodation – Rs. 250/-
Fixed Stationary Charge (FSC)	Rs. 25/- pm for BPMs RS. 10/- pm for other than BPMs	Rs. 25/- ABPMS and Dak Sevaks. FSC subsumed in composite allowance for BPMs
Boat Allowance	Rs. 50/- pm	Boat allowance may be retained @ Rs.115/-.
Cash Conveyance Allowance	Rs. 50/- pm	Payment of Rs. 30/- and Rs. 50/- per occasion plus actual conveyance charges for cash conveyance of an amount less than Rs. 1 Lakh and more than Rs. 1 lakh respectively subject to maximum of charges incurred for transport by public bus
Cycle Maintenance Allowance	Rs. 90/- pm	@ 180/- pm
Combined Duty Allowance	1. GDS Branch Postmasters performing delivery or conveyance duties or both will be paid Rs. 500 P.M. for each item of work separately. 2. If the Branch Postmaster is performing delivery at the BO village only, it will be restricted to Rs. 250 P.M 3. BPM exchanging Mails at Bus stand or at Railway Stations will be compensated at the rate of Rs. 250 P.M.	BPM for delivery OR Mail conveyance work – Rs. 45/- per day subject to maximum of Rs. 1170/- per month BPM for delivery PLUS mail conveyance – Rs. 90/- per day subject to maximum of Rs. 2340/- per month ABPM for BPM work – Rs. 75/- per day subject to a maximum of Rs. 1950/- per month. ABPM/Dak Sevak for additional work of another ABPM/Dak Sevak- Rs. 45/- per day subject to a maximum of Rs. 1170/- These rates will be for combination of duties of two or more posts borne on the establishment of the office
Risk and Hardship Allowance	Nil	Risk and Hardship allowance @ of Rs. 500/- per month to the GDS working in areas which are identified for this allowance.

5. Other social welfare benefits : –

• Contribution to Service Discharge Benefit Scheme (SDBS) – based on NPS lite
  – increased from Rs. 200/- to Rs. 300/- (for both GDS and Department)
• Ex-gratia gratuity – enhanced from Rs. 60,000/- to Rs. 1.5 lakhs.
• Severance Amount – enhanced from Rs. 60,000/- to Rs. 1.5 lakhs.
• Maternity Leave – 180 days and wages for the period paid from salary head.

Source : LokSabha

GDS Pay Revision: Implementation of Kamlesh Chandra Committee Report is under active consideration

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS
DEPARTMENT OF POSTS
LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.6073
TO BE ANSWERED ON 4TH APRIL, 2018

KAMLESH CHANDRA COMMITTEE

6073. SHRI PRABHAKAR REDDY KOTHA:
SHRI B. VINOD KUMAR:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:
(a) whether Kamlesh Chandra Committee has submitted its report on the conditions of Gramin Dak Sevaks across the country and if so, the details and the major recommendations thereof;
(b) whether the Government proposes to implement the said recommendations of the Committee and if so, the details thereof and the time by which it is likely to be done;
(c) whether the Government proposes to regularise the Gramin Dak Sevaks in the near future and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; (d) whether the Government has taken note of the agitation made by Rural Postal Employees seeking implementation of Kamlesh Chandra Committee recommendations, if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the reaction of the Government thereto?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a) Yes Madam. The details and the major recommendations are attached as Annexure-I.

(b) Yes Madam. The recommendations made by the Committee constituted to look into the salary structure, other service matters and problems of Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDSs) have been considered by the Department. These are currently under approval within the Government. Once necessary approvals have been obtained, the recommendations will be implemented.

(c) No Madam. At present there is no proposal to regularize the Gramin Dak Sevaks. GDSs cannot be regularized for the following reasons :-

i. The Gramin Branch Post Offices function where the workload and traffic does not justify opening of a departmental post office irrespective of the element of profitability. The Gramin Dak Sevaks are engaged by the department for a maximum of five hours in a day and are paid remuneration based on actual work load. The GDS are not wholly dependent upon allowances paid by the Department. Allowances paid by the department are only supplement to the livelihood (main source of income) of GDS. Therefore, one of the conditions for their engagement is that they are mandatorily required to possess independent source of income for livelihood of themselves and their family before they are engaged as GDS.

ii. The legal status of the Gramin Dak Sevaks as held by Apex Court in 1977 is that they are holders of the civil posts outside the regular civil service. The Extra departmental agents (now re-designated as Gramin Dak Sevaks) are governed by non-statutory rules called Gramin Dak Sevaks (Conduct & Engagement) Rules, 2011 which are not framed under Article 309 of the constitution.

(d) & (e) Yes Madam. Department of Posts has taken note of the agitation by Rural Postal Employees seeking implementation of Kamlesh Chandra Committee recommendations. The recommendations of the Kamlesh Chandra Committee have been considered by the Department. These are currently under approval within the Government. Once necessary approvals have been obtained, the recommendations will be implemented. The Department has already informed the Gramin Dak Sevaks unions that the implementation of Kamlesh Chandra Committee Report is under active consideration and appealed to them to withdraw the agitation.

Annexure- I
Salient features of the One Man Committee Report headed by Shri Kamlesh Chandra

• The old system of payment of Time Related Continuity Allowance (TRCA) is dispensed with and replaced with a new wage payment system.
• Under the new wage payment system, 11 TRCA slabs are subsumed into 3 Wage Scales with two Levels each for Branch Postmasters (BPMs) and for other than BPMs. One wage scale would be common for both the categories of GDSs.
• The minimum working hours of GDS Post Offices and GDSs are increased to 4 hours from 3 hours.
• The new working hours for GDS Post Offices will be 4 hours and 5 hours only.
• The Level 1 GDS Post Offices / GDSs will have 4 hours as working hours and Level – 2 will have 5 hours as working hours.
• The Point System for assessment of workload of BPMs has been abolished.
• The new wage payment system is linked to revenue generation of GDS Post Offices. Under the new system, there will be no increase in wages of BPMs from Level -1 to Level -2 on the basis of workload but the same will be increased based on achievement of prescribed revenue norms which is fixed at 100% for normal areas and 50% for special areas.
• The GDS Post Offices not achieving the prescribed revenue norm within the given working hours will have to open GDS Post Offices for minimum of additional 30 minutes beyond the prescribed working hours.
• The GDS BPMs will be paid Revenue Linked Allowance @10% beyond level-2 wage scale if they will be successful in achieving revenue beyond prescribed norms
• The GDS Post Offices have been categorized into A, B, C and D categories based on the revenue generation norms. The GDS Post Office in A category will achieve 100% revenue norm. The Committee has recommended a set of actions for each category of GDS Post Offices.
• The six approved categories of GDSs are subsumed into two categories only. One category will be Branch Post Master and all other 5 categories of GDSs are subsumed into one Multi Tasking Category.
• The GDSs working in the GDS Post Offices will be known as Assistant Branch Post Master (ABPMs) and those working in the Departmental Post Offices will be known as Dak Sevak (DS).
• The minimum wage has been increased to Rs. 10000/- per month and maximum pay to Rs. 35480/- per month.
• The rate of annual increase is recommended as 3%.
• A Composite Allowance comprising of support for hiring accommodation for GDS Post Offices as well as mandatory residence, office maintenance, mobile and electricity usage charges etc. has been introduced for the first time.
• Children Education Allowance @Rs. 6000/- per child per annum has been introduced for GDSs.
• Risk & Hardship Allowance @Rs. 500/- per month for GDS working in the special areas has also been introduced.
• A Financial up-gradation has been introduced at 12 years, 24 years and 36 years of services in form of two advance additional annual increases.
• The Ceiling of ex-gratia gratuity has been increased from Rs. 60,000 to Rs. 5,00,000
• The GDS Contribution for Service Discharge Benefit Scheme (SDBS) should be enhanced maximum up to 10% and minimum up to 3% of the basic wage per month, whereas the Department should contribute a fixed contribution of 3% of the basic wage of the GDSs.
• The coverage of GDS Group Insurance Scheme has been enhanced from Rs. 50000/- to Rs. 5,00,000/
• The contribution of Department in Circle Welfare Fund (CWF) has been increased from Rs. 100/ per annum to Rs. 300/ per annum.
• The scope of CWF is extended to cover immediate family members such as spouse; daughters, sons and dependent daughters in law in the scheme.
• The Committee also recommended 10% hike in the prescribed limits of financial grants and assistances in the Circle Welfare Funds.
• The Committee has recommended addition of Rs. 10,000/ for purchase of Tablet /Mobile from the Circle Welfare in the head “Financial
• Assistance of Fund by way of loans with lower rate of interest (5%)”.
• Provision of 26 weeks of Maternity Leave for women GDS has been recommended.
• The wages for the entire period of Maternity Leave is recommended to be paid from salary head from where wages of GDSs are paid.
• The Committee has also recommended one week of paternity leave.
• Leave accumulation and encashment facility up to 180 days has been introduced.
• Online system of engagement has been recommended.
• Alternate livelihood condition for engagement of GDSs has been relaxed.
• Voluntary Discharge scheme has been recommended.
• The Discharge age has been retained at 65 years.
• The Limited Transfer Facility has been relaxed from 1 time to 3 times for male GDSs.
• There will be no restriction on number of chances for transfer of women GDSs. The powers for transfer has been delegated to the concerned
• Divisional head.
• The ex-gratia payment during put off period should be revised to 35% from 25% of the wage and DA drawn immediately before put off.
• The Committee has recommended preferring transfer before put off duty.

Source: Lok Sabha Q&A

Gramin Dak Sevaks One Man Committee Report under consideration: LokSabha Q&A

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS
DEPARTMENT OF POSTS
LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3216
TO BE ANSWERED ON 14th MARCH, 2018

GRAMIN DAK SEVAKS

3216. SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:
SHRI A. ANWHAR RAAJHAA:
SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR:
SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:
SHRI T. RADHAKRISHNAN:
SHRI ASHOK SHANKARRAO CHAVAN:
SHRI NARANBHAI KACHHADIYA:
KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH:
SHRI S.R. VIJAYAKUMAR:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) the number of Grameen Dak Sevaks working in the country at present, State/UT-wise;

(b) whether pay/remuneration of Grameen Dak Sevaks has not been increased as per 7th Pay Commission recommendation and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;

(c) whether the Government has received any representation’s from people representatives to increase their pay/ remuneration as per 7th Pay Commission recommendations;

(d) if so, the details thereof and the response of the Government thereto; and

(e) the time by which their pay/ remuneration is likely to be increased?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS &
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a) The number of Grameen Dak Sevaks working in the country at present, State/UT-wise is given in Annexure – I.

(b) Grameen Dak Sevaks are not covered under the purview of the 7th Pay Commission. Therefore a separate one man Committee was constituted to examine the wage structure and service conditions of the Grameen Dak Sevaks. The Committee has submitted its report and the recommendations are presently under consideration of the Government. The details of the recommendations are given in Annexure – II.

(c) Yes, Madam. Government has received several representations from people’s representatives to implement the recommendations of the GDS Committee Report.

(d) & (e) 34 such representations were received between January 2017 to February 2018.

The recommendations of the one man Committee are presently under active considerations of the Government, and action will be taken after following due procedure.

ANNEXURE – I

STATE WISE LIST OF NUMBER OF GRAMEEN DAK SEVAKS WORKING IN THE COUNTRY

SI	NAME OF THE STATE	NUMBER OF GRAMIN DAK SEVAKS WORKING IN THE COUNTRY
1	Andhra Pradesh	15627
2	Arunachal Pradesh	462
3	Assam	7794
4	Bihar	15325
5	Chhattisgarh	4645
6	Delhi	139
7	Goa	330
8	Gujarat	13294
9	Haryana	3764
10	Himachal Pradesh	5916
11	Jammu & Kashmir	2495
12	Jharkhand	6041
13	Karnataka	14128
14	Kerala	9532
15	Madhya Pradesh	11513
16	Maharashtra	17807
17	Manipur	1797
18	Meghalaya	857
19	Mizoram	926
20	Nagaland	785
21	Odisha	14193
22	Punjab	5535
23	Rajasthan	12844
24	Sikkim	473
25	Tamil Nadu	19236
26	Telangana	8356
27	Tripura	1248
28	Uttar Pradesh	26691
29	Uttarakhand	5485
30	West Bengal	16035

UNION TERRITORY WISE LIST OF NUMBER OF GRAMIN DAK SEVAKS WORKING IN THE COUNTRY

SL.NO	NAME OF THE UNION TERRITORY	NUMBER OF GRAMIN DAK SEVAKS WORKING IN THE COUNTRY
1	Andaman and Nicobar	162
2	Chandigarh	50
3	Daman and Diu	17
4	Dadar and Nagar Haveli	48
5	Lakshdweep	6
6	Puducherry	161

Annexure- II

Salient features of the One Man Committee Report headed by Shri Kamlesh Chandra

• The old system of payment of Time Related Continuity Allowance (TRCA) is dispensed with and replaced with a new wage payment system. Under the new wage payment system, 11 TRCA slabs are subsumed into 3 Wage Scales with two Levels each for BPMs and for other than BPMs. One wage scale would be common for both the categories of GDSs.
• The minimum working hours of GDS Post Offices and GDSs are increased to 4 hours from 3 hours.
• The new working hours for GDS Post Offices will be 4 hours and 5 hours only.
• The Level 1 GDS Post Offices / GDSs will have 4 hours as working hours and Level – 2 will have 5 hours as working hours.
• The Point System for assessment of workload of BPMs has been abolished.
• The new wage payment system is linked to revenue generation of GDS Post Offices. Under the new system, there will be no increase in wages of BPMs from Level -1 to Level -2 on the basis of workload but the same will be increased based on achievement of prescribed revenue norms which is fixed at 100% for normal areas and 50% for special areas.
• The GDS Post Offices not achieving the prescribed revenue norm within the given working hours will have to open GDS Post Offices for minimum of additional 30 minutes beyond the prescribed working hours.
• The GDS BPMs will be paid Revenue Linked Allowance @10% beyond level-2 wage scale if they will be successful in achieving revenue beyond prescribed norms
• The GDS Post Offices has been categorized into A, B; C and D categories based on the revenue generation norms. The GDS Post Office in A category will achieve 100% revenue norm. The Committee has recommended a set of actions for each category of GDS Post Offices.
• The six approved categories of GDSs are subsumed into two categories only. One category will be Branch Post Master and all other 5 categories of GDSs are subsumed into one Multi Tasking Category.
• The GDSs working in the GDS Post Offices will be known as Assistant Branch Post Master (ABPMs) and those working in the Departmental Post Offices will be known as Dak Sevak (DS).
• The minimum wage has been increased to Rs. 10000/- per month and maximum pay to Rs. 35480/- per month.
• The rate of annual increase is recommended as 3%.
• A Composite Allowance comprising of support for hiring accommodation for GDS Post Offices as well as mandatory residence, office maintenance, mobile and electricity usage charges etc. has been introduced for the first time.
• Children Education Allowance @Rs. 6000/- per child per annum has been introduced for GDSs
• Risk & Hardship Allowance @Rs. 500/- per month for GDS working in the special areas has also been introduced.
• A Financial up-gradation has been introduced at 12 years, 24 years and 36 years of services in form of two advance additional annual increases.
• The Ceiling of ex-gratia gratuity has been increased from Rs. 60,000 to Rs. 5,00,000
• The GDS Contribution for Service Discharge Benefit Scheme (SDBS) should be enhanced maximum up to 10% and minimum up to 3% of the basic wage per month, whereas the Department should contribute a fixed contribution of 3% of the basic wage of the GDSs.
• The coverage of GDS Group Insurance Scheme has been enhanced from Rs. 50000/- to Rs. 5,00,000/
• The contribution of Department in Circle Welfare Fund (CWF) has been increased from Rs. 100/ per annum to Rs. 300/ per annum.
• The scope of CWF is extended to cover immediate family members such as spouse; daughters, sons and dependent daughters in law in the scheme.
• The Committee also recommended 10% hike in the prescribed limits of financial grants and assistances in the Circle Welfare Funds.
• The Committee has recommended addition of Rs. 10,000/ for purchase of Tablet / Mobile from the Circle Welfare in the head “Financial Assistance of Fund by way of loans with lower rate of interest (5%)”.
• Provision of 26 weeks of Maternity Leave for women GDS has been recommended.
• The wages for the entire period of Maternity Leave is recommended to be paid from salary head from where wages of GDSs are paid.
• The Committee has also recommended one week of paternity leave.
• Leave accumulation and encashment facility up to 180 days has been introduced.
• Online system of engagement has been recommended.
• Alternate livelihood condition for engagement of GDSs has been relaxed.
• Voluntary Discharge scheme has been recommended.
• The Discharge age has been retained at 65 years.
• The Limited Transfer Facility has been relaxed from 1 time to 3 times for male GDSs. There will be no restriction on number of chances for transfer of women GDSs. The powers for transfer has been delegated to the concerned Divisional head.
• The ex-gratia payment during put off period should be revised to 35% from 25% of the wage and DA drawn immediately before put off.
• The Committee has recommended preferring transfer before put off duty.